Improvement in washing-machines



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

JOHN W. WHEAT, OF LEES SUMMIT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO JOHN H. ERVIN, OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN WASHING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 218,098, dated July 29, 1879; application filed February 12, 1877.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. WHEAT, of Lees Summit, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Washing-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-- Figure 1 is a top-plan view; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures denote the same parts.

This invention relates to improvements in washing-machines; and consists in a certain novel construction and arrangement of parts, which 1 will now proceed to describe, and point out particularly in the claim.

In the drawings, A is the body of the tub, which is oblong in shape, as represented, in order to afford a sufficient space at one end to accommodate the washing mechanism, and at the other end to hold a large body of water separate from that in which the washing mechanism operates. B is a frame, consisting of side and end pieces, which fit accurately into the tub A, and are secured therein by hooks and staples g. E is a vertical partition, held in grooves in the side pieces of the frame B, and having its lower edge fitted to a transverse groove in the bottom of the tub A. e e are cocks or plugs, by which either compartment made in the tub A by the partition may be emptied independently of the other.

The washing mechanism is arranged in one of the compartments formed by said partition E, and may be of any suitable construction.

As represented in the drawings, it here consists of a concave bed, 0, formed of several slats or rounds affixed to the frame B, and operating in connection with an oscillating convex rubber, O, constructed of slats or rounds attached to side pieces pivoted by means of trunnions c to bars D, which are fastened to the side of the tub by pins 8, as shown in Fig. 1. The rubber is provided with a handle, d, by which it may be oscillated upon its pivots, so as to produce the necessary rubbing of the clothes.

The ends of the bars D may project beyond the end of the tub, to answer as handles for lifting and moving the latter, and fixed handles may be attached to the opposite end of the tub for the same purpose.

By this construction the rubber may be swung up out of the tub, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2, and the whole apparatus, including the rubber, the frame B, and the partition E, may be removed from the tub A, leaving the latter to be used for any purpose to which its form and dimensions render it applicable. The partition E may also be removed or raised and lowered without moving the frame B.

The object of this partition is to enable one of the compartments to be filled with clean rinsing-water, while the other, in which the washing apparatus is situated, contains the soapy washing-water. As fast as the clothes are washed in the latter compartment they may be drawn over the top of the partition E into the compartment containing the clean water, and there suitably rinsed, after which they may be wrung out and placed upon a hinged table, F, at the end of the machine, or in a basket or other receptacle standing thereon. This table may also answer as an ironing-table, and when not in use can be folded down out of the way, as shown in Fig. 2.

When the water in the washin g-com partment becomes foul it may be discharged through one of the cooks e, and by raising the partition E a sufficient quantity of clean water will flow in from the other compartment to enable the washing to be continued, or, perhaps, even completed, without introducing any additional water into the tub A. Should it not be desired at first to use the apparatus for rinsing, the partition E may be removed and the entire tub filled with washing-water; and when it becomes desirable to rinse the clothes the partition may be inserted, the water drawn off from the open compartment, and rinsingwater introduced therein.

It will thus be seen that the two compart- The removable frame B and its movable partition E, in combination with the tub A, having washing mechanism arranged at one end, and cooks e e, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own Iaifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. WEIEAT.

Witnesses:

VAN H. BROOKS, A. GoMINGo. 

